


Little Birds, Act 1: The Fool

by orphan_account



Series: Little Birds [1]
Category: Sekirei, Ventus Chromae
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-18
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-08 00:28:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3188969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world's a stage, life's a play, and we're all actors in improv theater.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fortune Teller

I am David Alexander Anderson of the Black Wind. I have mastered energies not seen on this earth for 75 years. I am powerful enough that a dragon, an actual flying and firebreathing dragon, looks to me for protection and calls me its Guardian.

And yet, my family refuses to let me stay home. ‘How could you stay home,’ they ask, ‘when we’re going to an anime convention in Tokyo?’

“Very easily.”, I’d replied at the time. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

I was unable to demonstrate this point. My fate was sealed: I would be forced to cosplay as albino characters I was completely unaware of, and then be forced to stand still while people take pictures with the fucking flash on, despite me constantly telling them to not do so.

 

* * *

 

Well, you see, there’s this funny thing about airplanes: I hate them. So goddamn much. I’m locked in an airtight tube with about a hundred other people who do not bathe often enough or use too much cologne or perfume, and the seats are designed for people a head shorter than me, giving me abysmal legroom.

Adding to my growing discomfort was the fact that I was stuffed between two very talkative idiots who didn’t seem to understand that no, the tall albino boy with a blindfold and a tooth-baring scowl does not want to talk to you at all. He wants to try and sleep through this flight, and you are interrupting that. Shut the fuck up.

Wait, scratch that, you aren’t talking anymore. Nor is the plane still intact. What the shit is going on. Why am I in the water now, what is happening?

 

* * *

 

After some thorough searching through the water, I confirmed the worst: Dad was dead. Mom was dead. Gemini was dead. Blackstone was alive, thankfully, but I was still down two parents and a sibling. At least I didn’t lose a son.

Yes, I thought of Blackstone as my son. I raised him from birth after hatching his egg. He’s my son and I’m his dad. Go fuck yourself.

Blackstone and I swam to the docks of Tokyo, very thankful that our clothes were waterproofed and that the plane exploded only 20 minutes of swimming out into the bay. I was also thankful that, for the first time in my life, Dad had actually told me the important details, like where we’re supposed to be staying, and things like that. He’d found a boarding house near enough a subway station so we could get to and from the convention. Apparently, rent was $500 a month and included meals and access to the baths.

The baths, in fact, were supposedly a major selling point. Dad was quite intrigued. Me? Less so. But, we’d paid in advance for a month, for three rooms(each one was rated for two people, you see), so that should be a decent enough place for me to stay for a season while I put my life back together.

I had the feeling it wouldn’t be quite so simple. It never is. There’s always something going wrong whenever I leave the house. There is no way in hell I’m getting out of this unscathed, but oh well. I can deal with it.

 

* * *

 

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, looking at Blackstone’s transformation.

“Fuck this human shit. I’m done.” Blackstone said, as he became a small black lizard the size of a puppy. “I’m staying like this forever.” He climbed up my leg, and up into the hood of my jacket, where he rested.

“I guess this is just what dragons do when upset.” I said with a sigh.

“Gee, no shit.” Blackstone huffed. “Any other obvious statements you want to make? Maybe about how you hate the sunlight, and you wish you had a hat?”

I sighed, and shook my head as I began walking. I knew the address of the boarding house, and my navigational sense supplied me with directions. It would be trivial to get there.

 

* * *

 

I found myself eating my words as I made my way across the massive city that is Tokyo. The bay of Tokyo was at the southern end. And the boarding house was in the northern quarter. Also, a tall albino foreigner with a hoodie, a blindfold, and a big lizard on his shoulder tends to get some strange looks on the subway. On the plus side, nobody tried to talk to me. I’m happy with that.

And I only got a sunburn on my face and hands! Two of the most sensitive areas on my body! Fuck this hurts! Problem is, I can’t use my power to heal myself, since I don’t have any right now. My contracts were with the Texas Fae, and those assholes are nowhere near here. I’ll have to track down the Tokyo Fae, and make contracts with those, and that is a messy business that never ends well in the immediate term.

But, at long last, I arrived at the boarding house at 3:15 local time. Not sure if Tokyo’s time was synced to a different clock, but by the sun it was 3 and a quarter hours past high noon.

I knocked tiredly on the door, and waited patiently as someone wearing some sort of robe or skirt that brushed the floor walked to the door. From the sounds of it, they were wearing some sort of garment with flowing sleeves, and had long hair. Given that this is Japan, it was very likely that they were a woman.

The door opened, revealing the landlady(?). She was radiating enough magical power that I could detect it even without the Eagle Eyes. Perhaps establishing a magical contract would be to my benefit.

“I have arrived.” I said flatly. “Unfortunately, four others have not.”

“Ara?” the landlady said, making a confused noise. “My apologies, but I do not recognize you…”

“I am David Alexander Anderson, son of Harry and Lisa Anderson. We rented a trio of rooms here, because there was a convention somewhere here.” I explained. “Unless my dad gave me the wrong address.”

“Oh!” the landlady said, realizing what was going on. “I see. I was not expecting you to arrive so early, nor was I expecting someone so… tall.”

“You should’ve seen my brother, then.” I remarked. “He stood more than two meters tall.”

“My, you westerners are all so tall.” the landlady commented, taking a step back to invite David inside.

“It comes from living in a fertile area with lots of food to eat.” I said, quoting a book I’d once read.

 

* * *

 

“So, if you do not mind my asking, where is the rest of your family?” the landlady(Who’d introduced herself as Miya) asked.

“They are…” I briefly entertained saying they were indisposed, but decided that lying would be a bad idea. “Dead. Plane crash, and their numbers came up in the lottery nobody wants to win.”

“Oh dear. I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now.” Miya said, shaking her head. “I lost my husband years ago, but that was only one person.”

“We all grieve differently.” I said wistfully. “I just keep reminding myself that their death is not an excuse for me to curl up and die too. I just have to keep moving.”

I wasn’t lying. I don’t really grieve, since I was desensitized to death at an early age. I didn’t really feel the loss right now, but I’m sure I’d feel it eventually. In the meantime, I have to worry about Blackstone.

“Well, if you need someone to talk to, don’t be afraid to talk to me.” Miya told me.

“I’ll keep that in mind. In the meantime, I’m rather tired and would very much like to get some sleep. Could you show me where I’ll be staying for the next three months or so?” I asked.

“Three months? Oh, right. I suppose you’ll only need one room…” Miya said.

“I might need three. Depends on whether or not it’s true what I’ve heard about japanese real estate.” I joked. “If the rooms are those tiny pod hotel things, I’ll require three.”

“Allow me to adjust your expectations.” Miya said, standing up and motioning for me to follow.

 

* * *

 

The room was plenty big enough. I had enough space for a desk, a few mechanical Constructs, and a bed, plus some space left over for whatever else I set up in here.

“Now, as for the lizard in your hood.” Miya said, turning to look at Blackstone. “I’m afraid I don’t allow pets here, due to past experience.”

“Ah, I take it someone’s cat was particularly destructive?” I asked, reaching back to pick Blackstone out of my hood. “You won’t have to worry as much about this little thing. He’ll be kept in a glass terrarium, for the most part.”

I take care of my own. Blackstone is staying, or I’m not. Miya can take her fucking pick.

“Hm…” Miya considered this. “Keep him contained, and I shall allow it.”

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on him.” I assured her. “He’s usually more friendly than this, and would usually be attempting to get to you so he can say hi.”

Blackstone showed his disdain for my blatant fabrication with a little huff.

“He must be tired from the plane ride.” Miya said sagely. “And the subsequent crash.”

“The little ones usually are.” I agreed. “Even the adults are tired after the plane crash.”

Miya seemed to take the hint, and I was allowed to sleep.

 

* * *

 

I awoke to the smell of food cooking, and the sun was, at this point, beneath the horizon. I got up, put my jacket back on, and walked downstairs to the dining room.

“Evening, everyone.” I said, yawning as I walked in. “What’d I miss?”

“Oh, hey, new tenant!” someone said. Feminine voice, a bit of an accent, and definitely young.

“Is he blind?” another voice asked, this one close to androgynous.

“Not really, but actually using my eyes hurts.” I explained. “Especially since people seem to keep their lights on all the time.”

“Ah, so you could see if you took off the blindfold-” the androgyne said.

“-but I don’t want to, because I can get by without my vision.” I concluded. “Also, it gives me a good excuse for being illiterate.”

I can read the roman alphabet, the cyrillic alphabet, even the korean alphabet. But japanese? Hell no. They have 3 systems of writing, all of which suck.

“But enough about the eyes. I’m David. Let’s hear some names for me to associate with the voices, shall we?” I said, not missing a beat.

“I’m Uzume.” the young woman said.

“I’m Kagari.” the androgyne said.

Now, lemme tell you something. Japanese has a bunch of 1st person pronouns, indicating gender and age. They were hard to learn. But they did tell me that Kagari was a dude.

“I’m David.” I told them. “David Alexander Anderson, the Blind Seer.” I’d left behind the title of White Rose sometime after the autumn festival when I was 13. “True to form, I’m a gypsy fortune teller.”

It was pretty simple, really. Just tell them things are about to get interesting, and by virtue of being around me, the prophecy comes true. But, if I had some juice, I could actually power the cards, and get a more accurate prophecy. With enough juice, I could probably take an accurate peek at the future without the shaded lenses that the cards function as.

“Oh really?” Uzume said. “How? A crystal ball? Palm reading?”

In response, I drew forth a deck of tarot cards. These were no ordinary deck, and were enchanted to hold the meanings within them, so they would shuffle and align according to fate in a meaningful fashion. As a result, they also healed from any attempt to distinguish the cards aside from their faces, and would swap places automagically in the process of shuffling. Completely, truly random, and therefore in the hands of fate.

“How do you read the cards if you’re blind?” Kagari asked.

“I don’t.” I answered. “You do, and you tell me what you see.”

“Won’t those be labeled in english?” Uzume asked. “I don’t think any of us can read english.”

“Oh. Shit.” I said, realizing the fatal error behind this plan. A ladle was thrown at me from the kitchen, which I caught with deceptive ease. “Please don’t throw things at the blind guy. It’s rude.”

“No cursing allowed within my inn.” Miya said.

“Your blood will be purple on Tuesdays.” I said, creating a hollow curse upon Miya. It was currently Wednesday, and I’d have time to get enough juice to power the curse by then, hopefully. “Not really a curse, but it’ll certainly weird you out.”

“Don’t think she meant that kind of curse, bro.” Uzume said, holding back a bit of laughter.

“How are you supposed to test that?” Kagari asked.

“I know how to draw blood safely.” I said, cupping my chin. “So, uh… well, there’s that option.”

“You will do no such thing.” Miya said. “My blood is to remain entirely within my body at all times.”

“In that case, we have to make her blush on a Tuesday. Somehow.” I resolved. “Any plans?”

“Miya? Blushing? I’d sooner bet on the American government getting its head out of its ass.” Kagari said. I deflected the ladle Miya had thrown at him with the ladle I’d caught, and gave him a thumbs up. “How do you keep doing that?”

“Dunno.” I said. “I just do.”

In reality, I have an ability which allows me to track the ballistic trajectories of everything around me. Some autohypnosis gave me the ability to use it for aiming purposes in a much faster manner.

But a good magician keeps ‘em guessing, and never reveals his secret.

“I bet his blindfold is actually that see-through fabric.” Uzume speculated. “So he can see what’s going on, he just acts like he doesn’t.”

“That’s patently ridiculous.” I said. “But if you could hook me up with a see-through blindfold, I’d pay a fortune.”

“That stuff isn’t that valuable.” Kagari pointed out.

“Not the monetary kind of fortune.” I said. “The other kind. Since I’m a fortune teller and all.”

“Boo.” Uzume said. “No puns allowed.”

“Puns are a perfectly legitimate form of humor!” I defended. “Although they can be punishing,” Uzume groaned. “to punks like you,” Kagari joined in on the groaning. “I’m going to keep puntificating until you completely punderstand my punt.” Uzume slugged me in the shoulder, and I laughed it off. “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here for three months.”

“Never do that again.” Kagari ordered.

“I’ll only do that in exchange for your immortal soul.” I said primly. “Or a number of souls of equivalent or greater value.”

“Do souls have a quantifiable value?” Miya asked from the kitchen.

“Yes they do.” I said. “I’m not gonna tell you what value that is or how to determine it, but you’ll see in time.”

“Does it have to do with morality?” Kagari asked.

“Nope.” I said. “My soul is a blackened lump in my thinkpan. Yours, on the other hand…” I activated the Eagle Eyes, the glow hidden by the fabric. “Yours is like a brilliant flame. Uzume’s is more like an overly-large torch, and Miya’s is actually painful to look at.”

Miya’s soul was very, very potent. It was actually radiating more waste energy than your average Chromata produced in the same time. I’d definitely want to find a way to siphon that waste energy sometime soon, because, well, power. I need it to do things.

I turned off the Eagle Eyes. Looking at things I shouldn’t have is what cost me my vision, after all, and I’ve learned from my hubris. Hopefully.

“And what does that mean?” Uzume asked.

“Nothing I’ll tell you.” I said with a smug grin. “Not yet, at least.”

 

* * *

 

Dinner itself was a rather quiet affair. The novelty of the crazy gypsy who believes in magic had worn off, and everyone began to eat. The food itself was pretty good. I didn’t usually like japanese food, but that might have been Artemis not being a particularly good chef when it came to asian food.

“So, bro, how was the food?” Uzume asked.

“It was pretty good.” I said amiably. “I’ll be able to stomach the local diet.”

“Oh? Just ‘pretty good’?” Uzume teased. “Miya’s gonna have your guts for garters if you keep that up.”

“Look, I’m a military brat.” I defended. “I’d eat a dog, and in fact I’ve actually done so before. Food mostly flies under my radar.”

“You’ve eaten dog before?” Kagari asked incredulously.

“Yep. Killed it myself, too.” I said proudly. “There were a lot of feral dogs where I’m from, so the government was fine with people killing and eating them.” I lied. I’d eaten dog on two occasions in my life. First, when I was in Cerst Manor, and I ran into a literally lantern-jawed wolf. Then during one of the Autumn Festivals, when someone attempted to kill me with a bunch of attack dogs. I’d made chili from the dogs, and forced their master to eat it until his stomach ruptured.

I may have a strong sense of right and wrong, but once you’ve attacked me like that, I do not hold back on grounds of ‘overkill’. There is no such thing as overkill. It’s just being thorough.

“What did it taste like?” Miya asked.

“Like rabbit, only with more satisfaction.” I said. “A little stringy, though. I wouldn’t recommend it without a nice sauce.”

“And what sauce did you use?” Miya asked, intrigued and disgusted at the same time.

“Well, I made one using blood and bone marrow, and that was pretty good.” I recalled. I hadn’t thought about it in a while. “In fact, it would probably be better as a stew, using the bones to make a nice stock…”

“Can you not?” Kagari asked, sounding disgusted. “This is Japan, not Korea. We have class here.”

“Eat a dick.” I said in korean.

“What language was that?” Uzume asked.

“Korean.” I said, switching back to japanese. “What I said wasn’t entirely complimentary, so I’m not going to translate.”

There was a minor pause as we began to clean up.

“Ah, David, there is no need for you to-” Miya began, before I cut her off.

“I’m blind, not crippled. I can still help clean up.” I said. “Besides, this gives me something to do.”

 

* * *

 

After the cleanup, I retreated to my room, where Blackstone continued to sleep. I sighed, and tried to figure out what to do from here. I was a healer, yes, but I healed the body, not the mind. I couldn’t cure depression like what Blackstone felt. I just had to wait and see, it seemed to me.

I hated waiting. Made me feel weak, powerless.

But now that someone was knocking on my door, I had something else to do.

“Hey, bro, you awake?” Uzume asked. Apparently I was ‘bro’ now. Not really complaining, since I’m currently down a sibling and need a replacement.

“Yeah.” I said, loud enough to be heard through the door. “I’m a night owl, since the sun is my mortal enemy.”

“Somethin’ wrong, bro?” Uzume asked. “You sound kinda down.”

“It’s complicated, and a long story.” I said. “Not in the ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ sense, but in the ‘come in and make yourself comfortable’ sense.”

Uzume opened the door, and walked in. I don’t know if she noticed Blackstone or not. But she did sit down across from me, and would have to be even blinder than I to miss him.

“Alright, well, first and foremost, I was very recently orphaned.” I said. “Plane crash over the bay. Not sure if Miya told you or not.”

“She did, yeah.” Uzume said. “Kinda why I wanted to talk to you. Make sure you’re fine.”

“Well, thanks for your concern.” I said. “But, I’m not done with the story, and I’d appreciate a lack of interruptions.” Uzume’s hair moved in a way consistent with nodding. “See, imagine that you have a single parent. They do a pretty good job of taking care of you, with help from your grandparents and uncle. But then, out of nowhere, what was supposed to be a fun trip ends with your grandparents and uncle dead, leaving you alone with your parent.”

I sighed, and looked at Blackstone.

“Now imagine all that, plus you’re not human, and can shapeshift into a small black lizard at any point you want.” I finished. “That’s the situation, I guess. This little lizard right here is actually my adopted son, Blackstone. He is, uh, rather distressed. And sleeping, I think.”

“No I’m not.” Blackstone said in his quiet little raspy voice. “I’m awake. I have been this whole time.”

“Uh…” Uzume said. “Is he supposed to talk?”

“Yes.” both father and son said simultaneously. “Some days he just won’t shut up.” I continued. “Which is why it’s disconcerting when he’s quiet.”

“Not all of us are as desensitized to death as you are.” Blackstone grumbled. “You accept loss easily, Mr. Blind Seer. Me? I am a small child who just lost their grandparents and uncle, and now lives in an unfamiliar place.”

“You’re pretty well spoken for a small child.” Uzume pointed out.

“Dragons are weird.” Blackstone said, reminding me of every single time he’d had to say that in explanation for his behavior. It was his catchphrase, almost.

“They are indeed.” I agreed. “So… yeah, I don’t actually care if you tell the others, since we don’t really have much to hide.”

“Except his eyes.” Blackstone said.

“My eyes are hidden because they’re really disturbing.” I said. “The wizard thing I was pretty up front with.”

“You said you were a fortune teller.” Uzume deadpanned.

“And I can tell you your fortune.” I said. “But I also do all sorts of other magic. Not right now, since I don’t have any active contracts.”

Uzume sighed, and sounded like she was shaking her head.

“Alright, so a contract,” I began. “is where a magician makes a deal with someone else. The magician gets magical energy in exchange for doing something for the other person. I am one of the most versatile magicians alive, so I can take on a wide variety of contracts.”

“So, like what can you do?” Uzume asked. “What sort of contracts would I be able to make with you, assuming I can?”

“You can.” I said, nodding. “Your soul produces a lot of magical energy. I could make all your clothes fireproof and stain resistant, or build a cat from cardboard and tin cans. All sorts of things, really.”

“So, a teleporter?” Uzume asked.

“No. But I can do a flying carpet.” I answered. “Or, alternatively, a motorcycle that can fly.”

“Hm…” Uzume said, scratching her chin. “I dunno what it is I really need at the moment…”

“How’s this,” I said. “I happen to have a bunch of passes to an anime convention in two weeks, and if you let me use a tenth of your power, I’ll hand ‘em over.”

“Deal.” Uzume said immediately. Instantly, I felt power surge through me. I reached into my pocket, and brought forth five tickets Dad had given to me to hold onto. Those were handed over to Uzume, and I smiled a bit.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Uzume.” I said, standing up. “Now that I can do some magic, I’ve got work to do.”

“Like what?” Blackstone asked, for my benefit rather than his own.

“The same thing I do every night, Blackstone.” I said, quoting an old cartoon. “Try to take over the world!”

“Meh. I got what I wanted.” Uzume said with a shrug, pocketing the passes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes!
> 
> David’s power/lack thereof is going to be explained through osmosis. Meaning that he’ll explain little bits and pieces of it at a time, and a complete picture can be assembled gradually, rather than him just dumping it all at once.  
> And, more importantly? David not having a gender preference will be an important detail. It will actually influence events.  
> There will be a romantic relationship between two dudes, is what I’m saying. Nothing explicitly sexual, but there certainly will be a bit of physical affection onscreen.


	2. A Friend in Need

I had done a lot in the past 24 hours. I’d built a fabricator construct, and a terminal with which to program in new designs. And now, with the terminal, I was designing a mythril foundry, which would process raw materials into a mostly consistent mythril wire. That would enable the fabricator to make things much faster, since it was working with mythril at a mostly consistent baseline.

Of course, you don’t care about that. I’m the only one who cares about my industrial output. Blackstone, meanwhile, had gained clearance from Miya to roam the house unsupervised, and was currently in the basement, discreetly digging a hole down into the earth. I cleaned up the dirt and stone he displaced, using it in the construction of the foundry.

But, of course, because I said 24 hours instead of a week, something noteworthy happened to justify dropping out of timeskip. That something was a vision I received during a break.

Sitting on a park bench is a woman. She has short, very light brown hair. A symbol is on her forehead, composed of a stylized bird, a taijitu below that, and a pair of tomoe to each side of the taijitu. She wears only one article of clothing: an oversized white button-down shirt, stained with blood, and resting atop her shoulders.

She is very clearly having a breakdown, and probably fairly impressionable.

And then, the vision disappeared, leaving me with only a memory and a location supplied by the vision, and a mission supplied by my sense of duty.

“Where are you going?” Miya asked, as I walked towards the door.

“Out.” I answered laconically. I had on a scarf covering my neck and most of my face, and one of those stereotypically Russian hats with the ear flaps. And for my hands, a pair of mythril gloves that afforded great dexterity without sacrificing warmth.

 

* * *

 

Now, here’s the thing about the blindfold. It’s not normal fabric. It’s mythril, making it fireproof, and will protect my eyes from quite a lot. But that’s not all it does, nor is that the most impressive thing. No, what it does is take an image of what I would see without it, and project it inside the blindfold, thus lowering the light levels to what I can tolerate.

Basically, I can see just fine with it, but it’s still impossible to see my eyes, which I’m rather happy with. If you can’t see my eyes, you can’t see where I’m looking, nor can you see my vulnerability. As to why I haven’t used it up to this point, that’s simple: I didn’t have enough juice to power it.

Thus, when I got to the park, I was able to see exactly where the woman in the vision was. I was able to find her. And I was able to watch her slowly lift her head to look at me.

“Are you okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned. Contrary to what you may think, I do have some empathy, and will attempt to help people who need it. Since I very rarely go out in public, that doesn’t manifest often. But when it does… I’ve heard something about ‘moving heaven and earth’ in regards to how much I’m willing to help a stranger.

And come on, that was one time I stopped the rain and shifted a boulder off of someone’s leg. Yes, I moved heaven by getting rid of the cloud, and the boulder counts as earth, but that’s a more literal interpretation of things than was intended by the creator of that phrase.

“I’m… broken.” she muttered, looking down again. “A failure.”

“No you’re not.” I said authoritatively. “Failure is relative. If you can’t do something, do something else. You just have to keep moving.”

She looked back up at me, curiously, as though I had just grown a third arm out of my forehead, or I’d just given life-changing advice.

“C’mon. Get up.” I said. “You’re not sleeping on a park bench, you’ll die of exposure. You are going to sleep inside on a bed, after taking a hot bath and eating a full meal.” I offered her a hand up, and smiled.

She paused, before slowly taking my hand and starting to stand up.

“Alright, we’re gonna take the subway.” I said. “Follow me.”

 

* * *

 

“Alright, we’re here.” I said, holding the door open for Akitsu(I’d gotten her name on the subway). I’d loaned her a pair of geta so she wasn’t barefoot, but I’d make some actual shoes for her later. We had arrived just in time for dinner, and I didn’t particularly need to eat.

“Ah, David, who is this?” Miya asked.

“This is Akitsu.” I said. “She’s hit a rough patch, and I’m compelled to help her.”

“Was it another one of your contracts, bro?” Uzume asked.

“No, actually.” I said, looking straight at Uzume. “It’s this little thing called empathy, you should try it some time.”

“Nah, ain’t nobody got time for that.” Uzume said with a dismissive gesture. She then noticed the symbol on Akitsu’s forehead, and seemed to silently freak the fuck out. Miya glared at her to keep her from reacting audibly.

“You do realize that both Akitsu and I can see exactly what you’re doing, right?” I asked, annoyed. “If there’s something wrong, let’s all be grownups about this and use our words.”

“Wait, how can you see?” Uzume asked, right as Miya said “It’s a long story.” The two exchanged a glance, and somehow agreed that Miya’s turn was first. All this was rendered moot by something very simple, very common, and very annoying: Kagari’s cell phone started ringing.

He dug it out, looked at the screen, and muttered something unsavory about goats. He answered it, holding it away from his room.

“Ah, you’re a hard man to contact, Mr. Anderson!” a loud, annoying voice said from the other end. I guess it was on speakerphone. “You don’t even have a cell phone! What are you, a luddite?”

“Yes, waiter, I’d like a glass of context with this conversation.” I said, allowing my confusion to become apparent. As it turns out, something simple(a vision) was now spiralling out of control.

“Ah, of course, where are my manners?” the man on the phone said. “I am-”

“Minaka Hiroto, one of the worst people you’ll ever have the displeasure of dealing with.” Kagari said bitterly. “Is there a reason you’ve called?”

“He said he was attempting to contact me.” I said with a shrug. “He figured calling my roommate would work well enough.”

“Smart boy! Have a cookie!” Hiroto said. “You see, you are now apart of a wonderful thing called the Sekirei Plan! You see, yea-”

“Shut up.” I said, quite annoyed at this point. “Skip the background. Just tell me what’s going on, and what I’m supposed to do about it.”

“Impatient, I see.” Hiroto said.

“No, I just hate the sound of your voice.” I said flatly. “Now, out with it.”

“Ah, such hosti-”

“Get on with it!” Kagari yelled.

“Get on with it!” I repeated.

“Ah.” Akitsu said, before pausing. “Get on with it.”

“...fine.” Hiroto said reluctantly. “Free for all tournament, 108 beings called Sekirei. Fight until only one is left. Your job is to support your Sekirei and help them get stronger.”

“Rules of engagement?” I asked.

“Do try to avoid murder, don’t involve bystanders, and you may not target other humans directly.” Hiroto said with a sigh. “I was looking forward to this, you know. I was thinking it would be a great day.”

“I don’t care.” I said bluntly. “Go away.”

There was a sound of a phone hanging up.

“Bro,” Uzume said. “You’ve got stones the size of bowling balls, saying that to him of all people.”

“Who even was that?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of him.”

“Minaka Hiroto?” Kagari asked, attempting to jog a memory I didn’t have. “The most powerful man in the world? Owner of MBI, medical and technological megacorp that’s surpassed Microsoft in wealth?”

“Nope.” I said. “No idea who you’re talking about. Although it does seem like a stupid idea to start a pissing match with him.”

“Yeah.” Uzume said. “That was a really stupid idea.”

“Well, what’s done is done, and he honestly doesn’t scare me.” I said with a shrug. “Better men than he have tried to kill me, and obviously none of them succeeded.”

“Looks like you have some stories to tell.” Kagari said, shaking his head. “If you were two years older, I’d buy the drinks.”

“Who told you how old I am?” I asked.

“Miya.” Kagari said immediately.

“Why would you betray me like this?” I asked her, sounding genuinely betrayed. I was, of course, messing with her. I didn’t actually care if everyone knew how old I was. Now, if they started treating me like a child because of that, then yeah, there would be problems. But aside from that, I don’t really care.

Uzume looked at me oddly, since she probably wasn’t aware of that until now, and was attempting to reconcile 16 years old with adoptive father of a dragon.

“Anyways,” I said. “Now that he’s gone, perhaps someone less annoying can explain to me what’s going on?”

Kagari and Uzume both looked at Miya, and she sighed.

“My husband worked for MBI.” Miya said as a disclaimer. “But he talked about his work. I know some things about the Plan.”

“He really couldn’t come up with a better name for it?” I asked. A sekirei, for future reference, was a bird that was also called a wagtail. “Like, I dunno… War of the Feathers? I just pulled that from nowhere. He probably had years to come up with a better name.”

“Minaka was not known for being good at naming things.” Miya said. “Please don’t interrupt.”

“Sorry.” I said.

“Now, the Sekirei are, like he said, 108 beings of supernatural power who live in Tokyo.” Miya said. “They look exactly like humans, with a few minor differences, such as hair color. But you don’t care what they look like, I know, you’re blind.” Huh, odd colored hair? Where have I seen that? Oh, right, the landlady who radiates magical power and knows about the supernatural, she has purple hair!

Come on! Purple?! Do you not know what hair dye is?!

“You see, the important thing, to you, is that the Sekirei form a permanent bond with a human called their Ashikabi.” Miya said. “It is a bond of purest love, and losing that bond is the worst fate a Sekirei can suffer.

“Akitsu here is a Sekirei. However, she was designated ‘The Scrap Number’, as she was unable to be winged, so to speak, and form the bond.”

“You say was.” I said. “Did that change?”

“Evidently.” Miya said. “After all, if Hiroto would call you to inform you of your role in upcoming events in Tokyo, he considers you to be an Ashikabi.”

“Huh.” I looked over at Akitsu, who was holding up her composure quite admirably. “That… makes no sense, but then again, neither does anything about this.”

“What’s confusing?” Kagari asked.

“For one, what does he expect to get out of this?” I asked. “Even if you’re ridiculously rich, you don’t start a magical murder contest in the middle of one of the densest cities in the world just because you’re bored. You have to be getting something out of it for it to make sense. Two, where did the Sekirei come from? They’re too powerful to have been constructed by a modern wizard, so they came from somewhere. But where? You don’t exactly find a hundred and change supernatural beings just hiding under a rock…”

“Erm…” Kagari said.

“The thing is…” Uzume said nervously.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me.” I deadpanned, catching the thrown ladle. “Miya, stop throwing ladles at me. It’s annoying and rude.”

 

* * *

 

More and more was explained over the course of the night. Uzume admitted that she, too, was a Sekirei, and that her Ashikabi was elsewhere. Kagari and Miya, despite being Sekirei as far as I could tell, refused to admit to it. I didn’t mention my suspicions, though. I kept those firmly to myself.

Also told to me was that an Ashikabi didn’t have a hard limit on how many Sekirei they could wing, nor was the bond always consensual. Meaning that it was possible to bind a Sekirei to one’s will using force. If I ever encountered an Ashikabi who did such a thing, I would amputate their legs at the waist.

And, last but not least, there was the promise of a prize at the end for whoever won. I suspected the prize was at best a middle finger, and at worst a front-row seat to Armageddon.

Naturally, I really, really would not stand for this. As a Chromata of great power and moral character, I saw it as my duty to keep the body count below 10.

 

* * *

 

“Alright, before we go to sleep, I just want to ask a few questions.” I said to Akitsu, aware that getting an answer from her would be like pulling teeth. “Is that alright?”

Akitsu nodded, making me once more aware of why this would be like pulling teeth. She was a woman of few words.

“First, do you have any sense of what it is you want to do?” I asked.

“Ah,” Akitsu said, before pausing to consider this. Or steel her nerves. Either or. “To stay with you, Ashikabi-sama.”

And there’s another reason. She refuses to call me anything other than Ashikabi-sama. I suppose I’m stuck with her, for better or for worse. Not exactly complaining, though.

“I have no problems with that.” I said. “But, I feel I should make this abundantly clear: I have several irons in the fire at the moment, and I may seem somewhat distant sometimes. In light of this, would you like to change your mind?”

Akitsu shook her head, and I sighed.

“Very well.” I said. “I suppose those are all the questions I had… everything else can wait until morning.”

Akitsu nodded, and laid down on the futon I’d put out for her. She looked up at me with questioning eyes, and I sighed once more.

“I don’t sleep.” I said. “But I’ll remain quiet so you can sleep.”

Akitsu nodded, and lowered her head. While she slept, it was time for me to continue what this whole misadventure had interrupted: the design of the foundry.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Akitsu revealed that she awoke early. Half hour before dawn early. Or, if we’re using temporal landmarks, halfway through designing the foundry.

It’s a difficult thing to design, okay? It needs to shred things to a consistent surface area, and then force said shreds into the transmuter, which needs to be adjusted for variability. This sort of thing isn’t done overnight.

Well, scratch that, it’ll only get done at night. It seems I have to juggle Akitsu and Blackstone during the day.

“Ah, you’re awake.” I said, powering down the terminal. “Right, well, we have some time until breakfast, so let’s use this time to go through the wardrobe and see what fits you.”

Akitsu nodded assent as she stood up, stretching in a way that made me worry about the shirt’s tensile strength. Really, nobody in this house had a normal figure. I looked like a soldier, Kagari fit the definition of ‘bishonen’ pretty handily, and the women here were all variations of ‘exaggerated porn actress’.

If I had been anyone else, I would’ve been in heaven, but I’m demisexual, and I can’t really feel anything for any of them. They’re all strangers to me.

And if I weren’t demisexual, the fact that Akitsu seemed to have no modesty and needed help dressing herself would’ve been a wonderful thing. Instead, I just felt like a dad trying to dress their child. Which sent shivers down my spine, as I could barely handle one charge. Two? I’d need help.

Eventually, Akitsu settled on a grey, almost frost blue kimono with a black obi. She made a few unorthodox adjustments, which I suppose were necessary by the reasoning that kimonos were not designed with Akitsu in mind. Still, I can’t help but feel like a kimono is not meant to display more cleavage than any one woman should rightfully have. Or use a chain to keep it in place up top, or have another piece of chain run around her neck and tuck neatly into her cleavage.

Then again, I’m just the blind guy wearing a hoodie and jeans, what do I know about fashion?

 

* * *

 

“David, what is this?” Miya asked, pointing at Akitsu.

“Gonna need to be more specific, Miya.” I said. “I have no idea what you’re pointing at.”

“Me.” Akitsu helpfully supplied.

“Oh, I see.” I said, nodding sagely. “First, Akitsu is a ‘who’ not a ‘what’. Second, you probably know who she is better than I do.”

“I was referring to her clothing.” Miya clarified.

“Again, I’m blind.” I said. “I have no idea what she’s wearing, although it sounds like it’s got a lot of loose fabric.”

“So this was not your suggestion?” Miya asked.

“No, I just showed her the wardrobe and told her to pick whatever fits her.” I said simply. “If there’s a problem with what she’s wearing, remember that she is most likely an adult, and can therefore wear whatever she chooses.”

Miya looked at where she thought my eyes were(She was off by two centimeters), and sighed. “I can tell already that we shall have numerous disagreements.”

“No we won’t, we’re both reasonable people.” I said in disagreement.

Miya shook her head. “Breakfast will be ready shortly.” And with that, she withdrew to the kitchen. Victory was mine.

 

* * *

 

After everyone had eaten breakfast, I walked outside and whistled for a few moments. It took a few minutes, but soon enough a crow landed on my outstretched hand. I smiled at the awful, awful bird, reaching out with my other hand to stroke its head. Before it could react to my change of intent, I snapped its neck in an instant.

“That’s the second time you’ve done that.” Miya commented. “How are you doing that?”

“It’s a little gypsy trick.” I said with a shrug. “Hate crows. They’re the worst, y’know?”

“I can sympathize.” Miya said. “They’ve infested the cities. They live on garbage, mostly.”

“Well now I feel bad about feeding this to Blackstone.” I said, looking at the dead crow in my hands. “Eh. He’s never complained about it before.”

I turned on my heel, stepped around Akitsu(who had not left my side since arriving at the inn), and walked inside.

 

* * *

 

“Bon appetit.” I said, tossing the dead bird at the burrowing dragon. “Blackstone, this is Akitsu. Akitsu, this is Blackstone, my adopted son.”

“Morning.” Blackstone said, poking his head out of the burrow. “I’m Blackstone, the shapeshifting dragon that he calls son.”

“Ah.” Akitsu paused to consider her words. “I am Akitsu, his slave.”

“No you’re not.” Blackstone said immediately. “I know my dad. You aren’t his slave. Assistant, maybe. Ward or charge, probably. Slave? Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”

“You are, after all, free to leave whenever you want.” I said, confirming Blackstone’s assertion. “You aren’t a slave.”

“Although I will admit, the chains look nice.” Blackstone said appreciatively. “Are they just an aesthetic choice?”

“They are to show my devotion.” Akitsu said, idly toying with one of the chains.

“If what you want is a symbol, I have some you can use.” I said, reaching into my pocket, before fishing out a pair of pins. They had an ornate, geometric, five-petalled white rose on them, and were about three years old, from back when I was the White Rose, rather than the Blind Seer. “The White Rose, official symbol of House Anderson.”

“You just made that up.” Blackstone said.

“Every tradition comes from somewhere.” I defended. “Besides, you know as well as I that my title used to be The White Rose.”

“Thorny and pale.” Blackstone said. “I must say, it fit you rather well. And it wasn’t as on-the-nose as The Blind Seer. Speaking of seers, did you meet Akitsu because of a vision?”

“...yeah, I saw her in a vision and had to help her.” I quietly admitted. “Since I don’t understand the meaning of ‘someone else’s problem’. Anyways, I guess I might as well bring these back.” I handed the pins over to Akitsu. “Feel free to put those wherever.”

Akitsu nodded, and placed them where she’d affixed the chain to her kimono. A wise move, I suppose. They were immediately visible, due to close proximity to Akitsu’s rather prominent chest.

“If you want, I can put the White Rose on the back of your kimono later.” I added. Akitsu nodded, and Blackstone huffed.

“I personally think it would be better named the Pentacle Rose.” Blackstone said.

“Pentacle Rose sounds really stupid.” I pointed out. “Also, I didn’t create this symbol. I stole it from the House of York, and I may as well honor the original name.”

“Ah, so you seek the throne of England?” Blackstone teased.

“Those damned Lancasters don’t deserve it!” I playfully declared. “I’ll show them, I’ll show them all!”

Akitsu seemed rather confused, through some metric I don’t quite understand myself since her face was still the blank, expressionless visage it was all the time.

“House York and House Lancaster were two noble families in England during the medieval period.” I began to explain. “In what was called the War of the Roses, they fought over who would claim the throne, because the old, sickly king had neglected to name an heir before his untimely end.”

“Ah.” Akitsu said, nodding slightly in understanding. “I see.”

“And that concludes History Lessons with David.” Blackstone deadpanned. “Tune in next week for his view on World War 2.”

“We agreed to never discuss that, you traitorous saurian!” I accused, pointing a finger at him.

“I never agreed to that, only Uncle Apollo and Grandpa did.” Blackstone said.

“...damnit, you’re right.” I said, shaking my head. “Still, don’t talk about that.”

“Alright, fine, you big baby…” Blackstone said. “Leave me be, so I can eat breakfast in peace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s notes!  
> Alright, everyone, this chapter and the last one taught me that I can make these twice as fast as I release them. I’m serious, I finished this within a half hour of releasing Chapter 1. Meaning that, if I wanted, I could take a 1 week break from writing this shit. But I won’t. Because I actually like writing.  
> Anyways, we have introduced 1) Akitsu, 2) David’s visions, and 3) David and Miya arguing.


	3. Milk Run

Two days passed, without much happening. I put the White Rose on the back of Akitsu’s kimono, along with a cleaning enchantment which would also clean whoever wore it. Repair of the garment beyond removal of stains, however, would be done manually.

Since Akitsu had made my symbol relevant once more, I decided to paint it on the fabricator(which I had set to helping Blackstone dig, since it went much faster than he did, and more precisely) and foundry(well, the design of it. I still wasn’t done with it.). I hadn’t put it on my jacket, but I did put it on my blindfold, over my right eye, oversized so that the edges were cut off by the size of the blindfold.

But, as I said, not much had happened these past two days. The Month of the Fish tended to be a dull time, as the last month of winter. Nobody really wanted to do anything in these days, except stay inside and drink hot beverages.

Of course, if I tell you that the last two days were uneventful, it means something exciting happened today. And it did.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, bro, been meaning to ask you somethin’.” Uzume said.

“Shoot.” I said, idly tinkering with an enchanted pearl. As it stood, it wouldn’t pair up with the other pearl, and thus was useless as a communicator.

“When you introduced me to Blackadder or whatever,” Uzume began, gesturing at Blackstone’s burrow.

“It’s Blackstone.” he corrected.

“Blackstone, right.” Uzume said, nodding. “When you introduced me to him, I shoulda reacted with a lot more confusion than I actually did. So, uh… is it more of your weird gypsy magic?”

“Yep.” I said, nodding my head. “I emit this aura that makes normal people ignore me. So, the first responders with their boats didn’t notice me or Blackstone, since he has that aura too.”

“I see.” Uzume said, nodding along. “But what’s that got to do with my question?”

“I’m getting there, be patient.” I said. “See, on normal people without any magical capacity, the aura makes me unnoticeable. But on people with magic, like you, it just has a general calming effect. It makes you question things less. So, the blind guy catching one ladle and knocking the other one out of the air doesn’t arouse as much suspicion if it was me who did it instead of almost anyone else.”

“Oh, yeah, I kinda forgot about that.” Uzume said, rubbing the back of her head.

“That’s also the aura.” I confirmed. “Makes you forget what I’ve done, so I can remain in the shadows. Or something like that.”

“Does that affect me?” Akitsu asked.

“Yes.” both Blackstone and I said simultaneously. “Although he can place a magical mark on you to grant immunity to his aura.” Blackstone continued.

“I was working out of the book on that.” I corrected. “I don’t remember how to do that, and I left a lot of stuff at home.”

“Oh.” Blackstone said soberly. “Then how did you-”

“I’ve had to make and remake that fabricator so many times.” I answered, loathing in my voice. “It’s hammered into muscle memory.”

“Ah. I see.” Blackstone said in understanding. “How many-”

“Four hundred and fifty seven times.” I said, cutting him off. “Four hundred and fifty seven times, I’ve had to remake that thing.”

“That’s a lot.” Uzume said. “So, when’re you plannin’ on goin’ back and grabbin’ your stuff from America?”

“Once I get enough materials to build a transport.” I said. “But there’s about 10000 klicks between here and there, so it’ll need to be a fast one. Plus, I’ll have to bring someone with me to power the transport.”

“I shall go with you.” Akitsu immediately said.

“M’kay, then.” I said amiably. “We’ll be in transit for a while, since I can’t build something as fast as an airplane. Plus side? We won’t have to deal with air traffic control.”

“Hey, if you could build an aircraft that could cross the pacific, even without your stuff that’s at home, why didn’t we just use that to get here?” Blackstone asked.

“Dad, quite rightly, does not trust any aircraft built by a 16 year old in a 3 bedroom apartment.” I explained. “Er, did. Not does. Did.”

“And we’re done here.” Blackstone said, going back into his hole.

 

* * *

 

Man, this whole ‘foundry’ thing is a nightmare. I can’t remember how I did it last time. But, I suppose there isn’t much point to designing it, since I already have one at home I could go and get.

Okay, screw the foundry, I’m going to design the hovercraft.

“Any ideas where I’m going to get the materials to make this damn thing?” I asked.

“You have a big pile of metallic mythril in the corner.” Blackstone said. “Use that.”

“That’s enough for a framework, but I kinda need more than just that.” I informed him. “What sort of powers do Sekirei have, Uzume?”

Uzume, fortunately, was still in the room. She found our company to be nice and quiet, while still allowing a good degree of socialization if she so desired.

“Well, it depends.” Uzume said, turning a page in her book. “We’ve all got different powers. So, f’r instance, I can control cloth. Make it grow, harden like steel, that sorta thing. Maybe you could cover your frame in that?”

“Eh, it probably needs your presence to remain like that.” I said. Some Constructs were able to make mythril, but most of what they made was temporary mythril. Cheap in terms of power, and great for temporary reinforcement of your bones and skin, but it faded faster than a styrofoam peanut in a jar of acetone if it wasn’t renewed and sustained. Uzume’s cloth was very likely mythril, and even more likely temporary. “Any other suggestions?”

“Ah.” Akitsu said, raising her hand. “I can make ice that never melts.”

“Okay, that’s a step in the right direction.” I said. “Even if it needs your presence, you’ve already agreed to come with me. How much can you make at a time?”

In response, Akitsu produced a large ice statue of myself and Akitsu, locked in some sort of dance.

“...hot damn.” Uzume said. “Girl, that’s fuckin’ impressive.”

“Wow.” I said. “That… I… wow.” The level of detail was genuinely impressive, looking like something that took a sculptor months of work to accomplish. It was frosted in some places, clear in others, rendered in such a way as to make clear what is going on, and who is doing it. In addition, the general forms were well-done. The cloth flowed the way it would in real life, the poses were dynamic, and in general I had no criticisms to offer. “I literally cannot find any fault in that.”

“What? Lemme see…” Blackstone said as he scrambled out of his hole. “Whoa. Holy shit.”

“That seems to be the consensus.” I said soberly. “Yeah, I don’t think materials are gonna be a concern for us anymore.”

“No they will not.” Blackstone said. “This is… this is the holy grail of material magic right here. Matter ex nihilo. Not even Cerst’s old tomes had that knowledge in them.”

He was right, partially. On one hand, as cohesive and complete as Cerst’s manuals had been, they had nothing about matter ex nihilo. On the other hand, he had a big book all about conjuration, which was siphoning matter from another plane of existence(there was a fuckton of those, unsurprisingly) and was far less impressive.

“Yeah, this is some pretty impressive stuff.” I said, not mentioning any of that. “This should speed up the process considerably.”

 

* * *

 

Now, even though Akitsu had made it on a whim in less than a second, I’m not getting rid of that sculpture. I’ll just kinda put it off to the side while I work on the actual transport. And that was just a matter of hollowing out a giant block of ice, then carving the appropriate sigils and runes on it. After that, it’d be a matter of putting a futon in there, and packing enough food to last us the whole trip.

Of course, simple does not mean trivial. I was performing my most obvious display of magic since arriving here in hollowing out the icecraft. See, fire is really good at melting ice, and since I can shoot it from the palm of my hand, I used a lot of it. A whole hell of a lot.

“Can you please not do that?” Blackstone said, coughing. “I am a fire-breathing dragon, and I think you’re overdoing it on the fire.”

“Relax, man, it’s fine.” I said from behind an enchanted cloth I used as a respirator. “All the fire and heat stays in the craft, and only the smoke’s getting out.”

“Dad, if there is smoke, you are using way too much fire.” Blackstone pointed out. “You are using so much fire that dust in the air is combusting, producing smoke.”

“Pft,  nonsense.” I said, even as I stepped down the amount of fire I was using. “If the building isn’t on fire, then it’s not too much. And if it’s not too much, then it’s too little, and too much fire is better than too little.”

“I suppose this is what happens when a borderline sociopath is raised by a pyromaniac…” Blackstone commented.

“What do you mean, borderline?” I joked.

He had a point. Being raised by Harold Charles Anderson of the Yellow Wind, Ember of Amber, tends to leave one with a certain affection for fire and warmth. And collateral property damage. Given that Miya’s inn seemed to be made of actual, literal paper, fire was a pretty dangerous thing around here.

So maybe I should switch to a drill or something, instead of fire.

 

* * *

 

“Alright, Miya, we’re heading out today.” I said. “We should be back in three days or so.”

“Oh? Where are you going?” Miya asked.

“Austin. I’m going to retrieve my belongings there, and then I’m returning.” I said. “In my absence, I hereby appoint you as Blackstone’s guardian. Try to keep him fed and alive.”

“Mornin’, everyone.” Kagari said as he walked through the door. “Busy night.”

“What do you do, again?” I asked.

“I, uh, work in a host club.” Kagari admitted.

“What’s that?” I asked. Kagari looked at me funny, and Miya shook her head. “What? I don’t get out much. Also, I’m American. I know pretty much nothing about modern Japanese culture.”

“Basically, lonely women go there and pay a handsome guy to drink and flirt with them.” Kagari said.

“That sounds exploitative.” I said, contemplating this. “Also counter-intuitive. In America, nobody pays for that. They’d pay to make it not happen at all.”

“Well, this isn’t America, is it?” Kagari said with a shrug. “Besides, not like you’re one to talk, mister fortune teller.”

“Hey, I have some pretty solid proof that I’m not full of it.” I said. “Besides, I don’t charge money for that.”

“Then how do you make money off it?” Kagari asked.

“I don’t. I’m a jeweler by trade.” I told him. “Fortune telling is just something I do on the side for fun.”

“Oh. That makes more sense.” Kagari said. “Right, well, I’m gonna head on off to bed now.”

 

* * *

 

“Aaand… we’re clear.” I said as we cleared Tokyo’s airspace. “The pathfinder will handle things from here. We’ll have a speed boost going out, and one coming in. That brings the trip there to a grand 18 hours, during which we have to entertain ourselves.”

Two attractive, young, single people, alone in a small room for 18 hours, and with nothing to entertain themselves with. It was obvious what would happen.

“So,” I said. “Wanna trade life stories?”

Akitsu nodded, and gestured for me to go ahead.

 

* * *

 

Mine was a tale of gleeful mayhem and extreme violence, of roughly 60 self-defensive killings of sapient beings(and untold numbers of non-sapient beings), some of which were pre-emptively self-defensive. Mine was not a tale for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Mine is the sort of tale that produces a 16 year old who can eat lasagna with one hand and perform an autopsy on a 3-month old, maggot-ridden corpse with the other.

 

* * *

 

“...and then I came to find you, and you know the rest.” I concluded. “So. Do you mind telling your story, or would you rather not?”

If she withheld her story, it would be because she wasn’t comfortable talking about it, not because she thought I would judge her. She knew just as well as I that I wasn’t in any position to judge.

“Ah,” Akitsu paused, then continued. “I will tell you.”

 

* * *

 

The following section is from Akitsu’s perspective

I could not scream- they had drugged me with anesthetics, so I could not move any muscles. But it was imperfect. I could still feel the needle going into my veins, I still felt the virii ravaging me, and yet I could not scream.

I knew, intellectually, why they did this. I was the Scrap Number, unable to be winged, and useless for MBI’s plans. So they used me as a test subject, that they didn’t have to be careful with. But that was little comfort to a child who had been deliberately injected with the black plague, just to see what would happen.

It was only because of the ironclad immune system of the Sekirei that I survived. By studying my leukocytes, they developed immune supplements that they thought would make them a lot of money.

When it came time to test on living subjects, the death rate was 100%. The project was shelved, and they stopped testing on me. I was then put in a room, separate from the rest of the Sekirei, and the only friend I had was Sekirei #2, who talked to me using the computer they had given me to keep me occupied.

With that much free time, I began to refine my skill with my power, until I could create sculptures from a mental image in a mere second. I also learned to speak many different languages. Korean, Chinese, English, Spanish, German… I was fluent in all of them, because I had naught but free time.

 

* * *

 

And now we return to David’s perspective.

“Wow.” I said. “I can’t imagine how much pain you must have been in.”

“Your guess would be an accurate one.” Akitsu said. “Your life was very difficult, as well.”

Well, that wasn’t a record, since she had just spoken for a solid two minutes, but it was still more than she usually spoke.

“Yeah, there’s some parallels.” I agreed. “Isolation because of a medical condition, followed by a lot of pain, then more isolation.”

 

* * *

 

We arrived in Austin at high noon, and landed in the parking lot in front of the apartment building. I opened up the door, and the two of us stepped out. I was thankful it was a weekday, and nobody was here right now. I was supposed to be away for a month, not that anyone would recognize me or Akitsu.

As I climbed up the stairs, I sighed. That sigh was punctuated by a fist to the jaw, spinning me on my heel and sending me sprawling to the concrete floor. I landed on my back, with the Equalizer in my hands, and fired off a shot to the sternum.

“Heheheheheh…” a familiar voice said.

“Goddamnit, Doc, I fucking hate you.” I said, climbing to my feet and fixing my jaw. Doc Bell was one of those people you hate to the point where it’s hard to leave alone. For me, anyways. “One a these days, you ain’t shruggin’ off a slug to the sternum.”

“Pft, my bones are all metal.” Doc said, rapping his chest with his knuckles. “Your bullet stung, but it didn’t really hurt.”

Behind me, Akitsu lowered her arms, and the cloud of icicles dissipated into nothingness.

“See you got yourself a friend with ya.” Doc said, looking behind me. “Must say, I appreciate your taste.”

“Kiss my ass.” I grumbled. “Why the hell are you here?”

“We had a contract, remember?” Doc said. “You turn my bones to metal, and I’ll give you a little slice of my power. I felt the transfer stop when you left, and felt if start again when you got back three weeks early. Decided to come check it out.”

“Yeah, well, I came back early to grab my stuff.” I said, rubbing at my still sore jaw. “Shit’s goin’ down in Tokyo, and I’m not at liberty to discuss.”

“You are, however, at liberty to kick ass and take names, right?” Doc said, to a nod from me. “Good. Maybe I can assist you?”

“I’ll give you a call if I ever decide I want your company.” I deadpanned. “As it stands? Nah. I’m fine with just myself and Akitsu here.”

“Oh ho, so the girlfriend has a name.” Doc said, outstretching a hand. “Name’s Doctor Thomas Bell. Feel free to call me Doc. Everyone does anyway.”

Akitsu looked at the hand, then at me. I shrugged, and Akitsu nodded. Doc’s hand remained unshaken.

“Cold.” Doc said, withdrawing his hand. “Appropriate for a cryokinetic like you, I guess. So how’d you two meet?”

“Had a vision, saw her having a breakdown, and had to intervene.” I said with a shrug. “You know about my oath, right?”

“Yeah, you swore a blood oath to protect those who can’t protect themselves.” Doc said. “Dumbest fuckin’ thing you’ve ever done, if you ask me.”

“Guess what, I didn’t ask you.” I said with a scowl. “Now get outta here before I shoot you in the eye.”

“Eh, I can just grow it back.” Doc said with a shrug.

“Not anymore.” I said as I shot him in the eye. “You’re cursed now. Your eyes don’t heal, and you can’t grow more. So now you’re down to one eye for now, Doc, until you can find a cure for the curse.”

“Son of a bitch…” Doc said, hissing, and covering his eye.

"Speaking of my family, they're dead now." I told him.

"Huh. You're handling being an orphan fairly well." Doc said, managing to talk through the haze of pain. "Damnit, that stings."

"Now scram, or I'll take the other eye."

"Fine, fine, sheesh." Doc said, walking away from us, putting an eyepatch on. "You owe me for this, you fucker!"

"Not a chance in hell, dickweed!" I yelled back. "Such a lovely friendship, we share." I said softly to Akitsu, with a smile on my face. 

* * *

 

We walked into the apartment, after I unlocked the door. A mythril lock meant that I didn’t need a key, only a rudimentary understanding of locks and tumblers.

“Welcome to my humble abode.” I said, looking around at the living room. “We’ll spend the day here, and head back to Tokyo in the morning. I should only take ten minutes or so to get all my stuff packed, and after that we can do whatever we please. Sound good?”

Akitsu nodded, and I smiled, before going off to pack up all my equipment. The Bag of Holding stretched to accommodate the foundry, and the two fabricators, and the several terminals. Then I packed up all the books, which I shouldn’t have left here in the first place.

 

* * *

 

“Well, I’m done packing.” I said. “Anything you feel like doing in Austin while we’re here?”

Akitsu considered this for a moment, and shook her head. “I wish only to be with you.”

“Funny, that’s what I had in mind, too.” I said with a grin. “Since, uh, well… I understand a few things better now, thanks to your story.” Such as, when Miya said ‘it’s a bond of love’, she hadn’t meant platonic love. She had meant romantic love. And since Akitsu seems to see us as having that bond(a notion I can go with), that means Akitsu feels at least a little affection towards me.

“And I was thinking,” I continued. “since you gain your wings from a kiss, and we never did that…”

Akitsu was quick on the uptake, and her expression, despite not changing much, definitely conveyed a sense of bashfulness. I was confident that few others than I would have noticed.

“Ah, that would be…” Akitsu paused, her miniscule blush almost becoming visible to the naked eye. “...that would be nice.”

Our kiss could be described as gentle, tender, tentative, all sorts of descriptors meaning we were timid and didn’t know what we were doing. However, I like to pretend I’m a gentleman, and a gentleman does not kiss and tell.

 

* * *

 

_**This following scene is from a third-person omniscient perspective.** _

David and Akitsu awkwardly stepped towards each other, David’s face showing color for the first time in quite a while. He leaned in, and timidly pressed his lips against Akitsu’s, marveling at how soft they were. Both of them closed their eyes, to focus more on the tactile sensation.

David brought his hand up to grab the back of Akitsu’s head, and wound itself in her silky hair. She began to purr softly, as she pressed her body against his. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and waist, exploring his back. His other hand, in turn, came down to squeeze her ass.

Akitsu made a small ‘eep’ of surprise, opening her mouth for a moment. A moment was all David needed, and his tongue slipped through into her mouth, running along her gums and teeth. From there, she all but melted into his grasp, arms going limp.

This cued David in to the fact that he should probably stop.

"Speaking of my family, they're dead now." I told him.

"Huh. You're handling being an orphan fairly well." Doc said, managing to talk through the haze of pain. "Damnit, that stings."

"Now scram, or I'll take the other eye."

"Fine, fine, sheesh." Doc said, walking away from us, putting an eyepatch on. "You owe me for this, you fucker!"

"Not a chance in hell, dickweed!" I yelled back. "Such a lovely friendship, we share." I said softly to Akitsu, with a smile on my face.

"Speaking of my family, they're dead now." I told him.

"Huh. You're handling being an orphan fairly well." Doc said, managing to talk through the haze of pain. "Damnit, that stings."

"Now scram, or I'll take the other eye."

"Fine, fine, sheesh." Doc said, walking away from us, putting an eyepatch on. "You owe me for this, you fucker!"

"Not a chance in hell, dickweed!" I yelled back. "Such a lovely friendship, we share." I said softly to Akitsu, with a smile on my face.

"Speaking of my family, they're dead now." I told him.

"Huh. You're handling being an orphan fairly well." Doc said, managing to talk through the haze of pain. "Damnit, that stings."

"Now scram, or I'll take the other eye."

"Fine, fine, sheesh." Doc said, walking away from us, putting an eyepatch on. "You owe me for this, you fucker!"

"Not a chance in hell, dickweed!" I yelled back. "Such a lovely friendship, we share." I said softly to Akitsu, with a smile on my face.

"Speaking of my family, they're dead now." I told him.

"Huh. You're handling being an orphan fairly well." Doc said, managing to talk through the haze of pain. "Damnit, that stings."

"Now scram, or I'll take the other eye."

"Fine, fine, sheesh." Doc said, walking away from us, putting an eyepatch on. "You owe me for this, you fucker!"

"Not a chance in hell, dickweed!" I yelled back. "Such a lovely friendship, we share." I said softly to Akitsu, with a smile on my face.

"Speaking of my family, they're dead now." I told him.

"Huh. You're handling being an orphan fairly well." Doc said, managing to talk through the haze of pain. "Damnit, that stings."

"Now scram, or I'll take the other eye."

"Fine, fine, sheesh." Doc said, walking away from us, putting an eyepatch on. "You owe me for this, you fucker!"

"Not a chance in hell, dickweed!" I yelled back. "Such a lovely friendship, we share." I said softly to Akitsu, with a smile on my face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes!  
> Yeah, David's life story is not going to be in here. His story is really, really fucked up, and he's only a functioning person because 1) he was a Red Wind, and they are built of sterner stuff than you or I; 2) he has a Blood Oath binding him into proper, sane behavior; 3) did I mention that he's a tough bastard? Because he is. He really is. David is made of iron(Not literally, for those who haven't read Ventus Chromae).


End file.
